


Hellish Farm Sim

by Kirpi



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Pining, So he adopts an ox, The Goose Is Loose, Zag and Than are accidental parents, Zagreus wants to live that Stardew Valley life, some chaos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirpi/pseuds/Kirpi
Summary: In which Zagreus has smuggled a semi-illegal ox into the House and he and Thanatos have to learn how to be good ox dads.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I got the idea for this fic when I was thinking about how Zagreus would be totally into Stardew Valley and would adopt a few chickens because of that. I don't think there are many chickens in ancient mythology, so the idea has changed a bit since then. :')
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Hades rules his House with an iron fist. Thanatos has always known this: his Lord did not tolerate any disrespect, slack, or – god forbit – foolish antics. There was a certain atmosphere to him, mostly a dark and deathly one. Everybody knows their place and keeps it that way. Which makes the contrast between the Lord and the Prince even more pronounced. Blood and darkness, Zagreus’ utter foolishness might be the only force in the Underworld matched for his father’s otherwise relentless reigning. And it might very well only work out in only the Prince’s favor. Thanatos let out an irritated scoff. The Lord’s mood only worsens when Zagreus leaves to try to reach the surface yet again. And in turn, the inhabitants of the House are also on edge. The further Zagreus climbs up, the more grim the mood of Hades becomes, and in turn, that of the rest of the House’s inhabitants too. Even Hypnos knows to keep his blabbering mouth shut then. Thanatos knows he should resent Zagreus for this, but he hates to admit that the Prince of the Underworld is a weak spot for him somehow. 

Which coincidentally is why when Zagreus comes to him smelling like literal shit, asking him to come and meet him in his room, he actually does follow him. Though Thanatos would never admit that of course, even to himself. He only followed him because when he narrowed his eyes and asked him why he should follow him, Zagreus responded with a big smile.  
‘’You’ll see’’, he only said, with a wicked glint in his eyes. ‘’It’s a surprise.’’

Blood and darkness, Thanatos thought. What is he up to now? Zagreus walked in front of him, strutting with a slight spring in his steps. He had a bad feeling about this, yet he followed him dutifully. It does not matter that Thanatos is literally death personified, that boy was going to be the death of him. 

As they walked through the House, Thanatos shortly met eyes with Meg’s. He didn’t know what expression he made. It must have been something sour since Megaera looked at him, eyebrow raised. He only shook his head and looked away. They were in front of Zagreus’ room already. Zagreus turned around.

‘’Alright, we’re here!’’ Zagreus scratched the back of his neck a bit. ‘’I do have a fair disclaimer first though, Than’’. He looked at him with the same puppy eyes as Cerberus when he knows he did something wrong.

Thanatos’ expression did not falter. Zagreus smiled up at him sheepishly.

‘’Ah come one, Than, don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to do you.’’ He chuckled a bit to himself at this. ‘’Though I do not think you will like this surprise very much. But I am very excited about it and just really would like to show you.’’ Zagreus smiled and looked away. Thanatos felt his pulse fasten.

He let out an internal sigh and found his control back. ‘’Zagreus,’’ he began stiff. ‘’If this is about something against the rules of the House, I can’t help you with it or anything. You understand that, don’t you? I cannot knowingly disobey Lord Hades.’’ Not again, he thought.

Zagreus positively beamed at his words. He took Thanatos’ hands just when his pulse had slowed down. ‘’Oh but Than, that’s perfect!’’, he said, squeezing his hands a bit. Somehow, that didn’t reassure Thanatos at all.

Zagreus flashed him one of that maddeningly smug smiles, before placing one of his hands on the door handle and pushed the door open. With his other hand still holding Thanatos’, he nudged him into his room quickly and immediately shut the door to his room. Thanatos did not have to wonder for a moment why Zagreus was so eager to close to door, especially when the door was usually left wide open. Because there was a huge cow staring at him in the middle of the Prince’s bedroom.

Lord Hades would never get this House under his control while his son was here too.

~*~

While Thanatos was processing the longest sigh in his life, his free hand massaging his forehead, a small part of him did admit it was a pretty cow. She was big, had a smooth, creamy white color and mighty, straight horns. Though that small voice could also have been Zagreus continuously praising the animal standing and shitting in his bedroom. He wasn’t sure, he was still not ready processing all the different layers of foolishness. And he also smelled shit. He finally let out what felt like his most tired sigh ever. 

Zagreus stopped talking and looked at him from behind the cow. ‘’So, erm…’’, he started awkwardly. ‘’Cute animal, right?’’

Thanatos cut him short. ‘’Zagreus. Why are you showing me a cow?’’

‘’Well you see, actually, it’s an ox! It’s just castrated and that’s why maybe—‘’

‘’An ox it is then. It does not matter. Why is it here?’’

Zagreus shifted his weight. ‘’I found him in Elysium actually.’’ He looked away and absent-mindly stroked the fur on the back of the ox. ‘’I heard a faint moo and followed the sound of it. He reminded me of something Mother told me about, called farmers. I thought it might be nice to bring him here. It reminds me a bit of her, you know’’. He realized what he said and smiled guiltily. ‘’Oh, I didn’t mean that the ox looks like Mother! It’s more what Mother does on the surface, that reminds me of those farmers and their animals. I guess you could see the ox as something to strengthen or Mother-Son bond. Sharing experiences and all’’. He walked around the ox a bit to put his hand on the animal’s head. He scratched his own hair with his other hand and smiled at Thanatos sheepishly. Zagreus fully faced him now, the ox slightly in the middle of them, blissfully oblivious to all.

‘’Some rules don’t have to be written and you know just as well as I do how bad of an idea it is to smuggle an ox into the House’’, Thanatos said. ‘’I do not approve of this, regardless of your intentions. Someone will find out that there is an ox in the House eventually.’’ The animal had now moved around a bit and was eating the corner of Zagreus’ bed sheets. His eyes were only an empty, black void.  
‘’I should let him die and guide him back to Elysium’’. 

He looked back at Zagreus, who was staring at his feet. He had a pained look on his face. Thanatos felt a little bad for him: he was so excited after all. Why did he have to be the one who had to tell him that this was such a stupid thing to do?

‘’I just thought… I guess I knew you would react like this’’, Zagreus began before hesitantly meeting his eyes. ‘’It’s just that, this ox means a lot to me already, Than. I see it as the thing that binds Mother and me, even though we cannot be together for very long. So I thought I would like to share this secret with you too, regardless of what you think… Because you mean a lot to me as well’’. A small blush tinted Zagreus’ face, but he still met Thanatos’ gaze. Thanatos was suddenly very aware of his own heart beat and had to look away, embarrassed to look Zagreus in the eye while he said those words.  
But somewhere in the back of his mind – or was it his heart? – the memory of how Zagreus left him for the surface without saying even goodbye, still stung sourly. It helped though. It made Zagreus’ words not overwhelm him completely.

‘’I… I appreciate that Zagreus. I won’t help you taking care of this cow. But I also won’t say anything to Lord Hades, or anyone in the House for that matter. Don’t make me regret that.’’, Thanatos said. Zagreus smiled a sweet, tender smile for him.

‘’Thank you, Than’’, he whispered, stroking Thanatos’ forearm softly with his thumb. Zagreus knew how much he liked those little acts of affection, even though Thanatos never showed it.  
‘’But I still have many questions Zagreus. How do you intend to hide him in the House? Surely not by just keeping him here in your chamber and hoping for the best?’’, Thanatos asked, putting his own hand over his. He thought he heard a faint thumping somewhere.

Zagreus’ eyes sparkled with excitement, hinting that he had yet another genius idea ready to go. 

‘’Oh, you were wondering how I want to hide a huge ox in the House! I’m glad you aske—‘’,

Thanatos didn’t allow him to finish. He placed a hand over Zagreus’ mouth and roughly- a bit too roughly perhaps- shoved him against the wall to keep him there. He felt Zagreus confusion and his breath quicken as their bodies were pressed against the wall, but Thanatos didn’t focus on that. He pressed his finger on his lips to quiet him and listened closely. He did hear something, he knew for sure now. Down the hall, he could faintly hear Megaera being frustrated over something. He couldn’t catch everything she said, but he couldn’t possibly miss a frustrated scoff about ‘’where Zagreus is’’ and ‘’why me’’. Then he heard Nyx talk, a low, powerful rumble. Even though his Mother’s voice sounded more powerful, somehow he had more trouble understanding what she was saying.

The only words he heard loud and clear were ‘’in his room’’. Thanatos looked down at Zagreus in horror and he could tell by his shifting, desperate eyes he heard it too. Megaera was coming this way. And there was a semi-illegal ox in the room. She would never be as merciful as Thanatos. He carefully removed his hands from Zagreus’ mouth and asked him in a low voice ‘’What do we do now?’’. Megaera’s angry stride already echoed down the hall. Zagreus opened his mouth and the only thing he managed to say with a strained voice, was ‘’Helli is gone’’. Thanatos couldn’t ask him what he meant because Megaera’s was already knocking on the door, fast and hard. She didn’t wait for an answer and opened the door. Thanatos heard Zagreus gulp, along with what he was about to say. 

~*~

‘’Zagreus, you here? I’m coming in’’, Meg said while already opening the door. Damn Megaera and her obtrusiveness, Thanatos thought to himself. As Megaera walked into the room, Thanatos remembered the position he and Zagreus were in. Zagreus was still pushed on the wall, one of Thanatos’ hands on his shoulder, leaning closely. They looked guiltily to her.

‘’… You’ve got to be kidding me’’, she exhaled in a tired voice. There was no way they could ever explain this, Thanatos observed. So might as well go with it then. He removed himself from Zagreus and hovered to a more respectable distance.

‘’It is what you could expect if open the door without waiting for an answer first, Megaera’’, Thanatos said matter-of-factly. ‘’What is it that you want here?’’

Megaera knew better not to ask further and just rolled her eyes. It was clear that she wasn’t here voluntarily. 

‘’I just got a message from Nyx’’, she said looking at Zagreus. He still looked as if he saw a ghost. If he wouldn’t have grown up seeing them, that is. ‘’She only has a bit of advice for you: don’t mess with the bull, or you will get the horns. Whatever that means. I guess you will have to watch out for Asterius. If you can even make it that far’’, she scoffed. 

‘’Don’t even think about telling me to say something back at her. I’m not a messenger, and this is a one-time only thing.’’ She didn’t even wait to get a response from either of them and just walked out the room with big, angry steps.

Thanatos understood her frustration: it was weird of Nyx to suddenly ask this of Megaera. But the implications of her message were loud and clear. He looked at Zagreus, mortified.  
‘’She knows’’, he said gravely. Was there a chance that this means that Lord Hades knows as well? 

Zagreus pulled him out of his thoughts before he could stress too much about it. He froze him with a horrified look and shook his head. ‘’Yes, but Than, didn’t you notice? The ox is gone.’’ Thanatos gulped and looked around him, confused. Zagreus was right: there was no ox. How the hell could they lose a huge ox? 

‘’But…’’, he only managed. If Zagreus was an idiot, that would make him the other half of the idiot. He had to set this right before it went completely out of hand.

‘’There is only one way she could have gone’’, he said. He nudged his head to the Arsenal Room and Zagreus caught on. But when they stepped into the open space of his weapons arsenal, there was no ox to be seen. Skelly appeared out of thin air. Zagreus ran up to him, urgently. 

‘’Skelly! Thank gods you’re here mate! This may be a bit of an odd question, but have you seen an ox here lately?’’, he asked, his face looking slightly mad. Skelly laughed at him. 

‘’Ahh how funny! I just saw one running of to Tartarus. Thought it was you for a second, boyo. Ha! Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t mean it that way’’. Skelly smiled his skeletal smile and Zagreus thanked him. He turned to Thanatos. He heard. His mouth has become a thin line but his eyes stood determined. 

‘’You go to Tartarus and search for him, Zagreus. Make sure he doesn’t make a mess of things there, or it will stand out for sure. I’ll go and talk to Nyx about what she knows. I’ll catch up with you after that.’’ Zagreus nodded feverishly. 

‘’Okay, okay, good plan. We can do this’’. He said it in a way which let Thanatos to believe it was more to convince himself than Thanatos. ‘’We can find Helli’’. Thanatos stared at him. Did he actually name the ox? After hell? ‘’I’ll explain it later’’, he smiled sheepishly. 

When he was about to float away, Zagreus grabbed his arm. Sometimes, Thanatos realized, he forgot how strong Zagreus is. 

‘’Wait’’, he said, urging him down. Thanatos obliged. He was still a bit taller than Zagreus. Zagreus stood on his red toes and left a kiss on his cheek, right at the corner of his mouth. It was short, but the feeling of his soft lips still lingered when he pulled his face away a little and whispered, ‘’Thank you’’ in his ear. It was intoxicating. Thanatos was suddenly irritated why he has to be so damn sweet and didn’t just kiss him on the mouth. So he grabbed his chin before Zagreus backed down and kissed him, properly. He felt Zagreus hesitate a bit, before melting into his touch and kissing him back. ‘’For good luck’’, Thanatos told him, stroking his cheek. 

And with those words, they both went their separate ways on their quest to damage control the ox that went loose in Tartarus.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for the loose ox starts!

Despite Zagreus’ complete lack of knowledge on how to care for an ox, let alone catch one, he thought he was doing pretty alright. Helli seemed pretty enthusiastic despite being unleashed in the Underworld and traces of him lingered in the rooms he passed by. A broken pillar here, some shattered pieces of glass and stone there. The thing however was that Tartarus had a hell of a lot rooms. And those were constantly changing.

So even though the act of chasing a loose ox down was surprisingly easy, Zagreus’ life was made one hundred times harder by it being loose in Tartarus.

Zagreus slit the last of the wretched witches’ throats in the room. Helli hadn’t been here, as far as he could tell. And it didn’t even matter that much in the dynamic dungeons of Tartarus: what matters was that he wasn’t here now.

Zagreus collected his earned Darkness and ran swiftly to the next room without a moment of hesitation. He had been clearing room after room without even taking a single moment to catch his breath. He wasn’t tired; he had bigger problems than that. And he couldn’t leave Helli on his own here.

 _You can do this, Zag,_ he thought to himself.

He entered the next room.

~*~

Thanatos would say he has a pretty alright relationship with his Mother, compared to other gods. They possess the same kind of feeling of responsibility and are strong in their beliefs. They are both professional in that sense. But also deadly. Nyx, one of the primordial goddesses, being far more deadly than Thanatos of course. And that’s despite the fact he is literally Death Incarnate.

So when Thanatos stood behind the corner, only a few paces removed from his Mother, he honestly did not know what her reaction could be. She obviously knew of the semi-illegal ox. But what would she do about it? Punish Thanatos and tell it to Lord Hades? Or… Maybe helping him like she keeps helping Zagreus escape? He had to know what her deal was exactly and what she knew about the ox.

One thing he did know however, was that his Mother was shrouded in mysteries. He doubt she could appreciate it if he asked her right away about the ox.

He had to play it smart.

He took a deep breath and floated to Nyx.

‘’Mother’’, he called. ‘’I got your message.’’

‘’Oh is that so’’, his Mother rumbled. ‘’I thought I asked Megaera to deliver the message to Zagreus? Perhaps she did not understand my request very well. Or maybe you were with Zagreus in his bed chambers for some reason.’’ She gave him a meaningful look, head tilted upwards to meet his eyes.

Oh, he knew she knew what was really going on. Still, Thanatos felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. He frowned a bit at that.

‘’That is correct, Mother. Zagreus received the message with me, but was keen to leave to Tartarus right away after that.’’ He suddenly did not know how he could tactically gain information out of her, so he just asked her straightforward: ‘’So… related to that, erm, metaphorical bull, what would you do to not mess with it?’’

Thanatos cringed inside. It seemed like Zagreus’ tactlessness rubbed off on him.

Still, Nyx responded. ‘’Ahh yes, the metaphorical bull’’, her voice rumbled. ‘’If you wish to tame it, you should learn more about it. Seek someone who has more knowledge on the subject. Unfortunately, I myself do not have much knowledge on such matters.‘’

‘’Someone who knows more of the metaphorical bull…’’ Thanatos thought about this for a moment. The one in the House who knew the most about the inhabitants of the Underworld and their stories had to be Achilles.

‘’I think I understand. Thank you.’’

‘’You’re welcome, my child.’’ Nyx smiled a cold smile.

The conversation had ended. It went way too smooth to Thanatos’ surprise and delight. He turned his back, all too eager to get away – when Nyx halted him with her voice.

‘’Ah but I do have another piece of advice, now that I think of it. It would be wise not to let those metaphorical bulls into your home. That would certainly be a good start as well.’’

Thanatos winced. He was glad he was facing away from her so she couldn’t see the sour expression on his face.

Thanatos turned his head and gave his Mother a short nod before finally getting away from her.

He already saw Achilles’ green tunic in the distance. Ever the sharp eyes, Achilles felt his gaze on him and turned his head to meet Thanatos’ eyes.

Thanatos narrowed his eyes. This time, he _will_ get answers.

~*~

Half a dozen rooms later and Zagreus still hadn’t seen Helli. He did saw some traces of him though, so he was hopeful that he’s still alive at least. Maybe. Zagreus was growing desperate.

He accepted the divine boon before him. A purple light illuminated the room.

Dionysus’ cheerful laughter rang in his ears, along with the faint clinking sounds of wine glasses.

‘’Hey there, Zag, my man!’’ Dionysus boomed at him. ‘’It’s nice to see you again today in this fine day in hell! Hurry up and escape already so we can party all night, man!’’ His cheeks were visibly darkened from all the wine.

‘’Lord Dionysus, erm, forgive for being rude. Before I accept your blessing, may I ask you a question first?’’

Dionysus let out a good-humored laugh. ‘’Anytime Zag, anytime! No need to be so formal about it. Ask away!’’

‘’Well, this is going to sound a bit weird, but did you happen to see an ox pass by through one of these chambers some time ago?’’

‘’Nahh man, I don’t keep track of everyone coming by. I just hand out the drinks! Here’s a life lesson for you, Zag: share the joy with everyone!’’

‘’Ahh I see. Thanks anyway, Dionysus mate.’’

He wasn’t one step closer he felt like. Zagreus chose his blessings and did the only thing he could do: move on to the next room and hope for the best.

The Fates weren’t in his favor: he found himself in Sisyphus’ cell.

Zagreus let out a frustrated sound. He was feeling so hopeless and desperate: what if couldn’t find the damn ox? Granted, the worst thing that could happen is the ox dying, which isn’t all too bad considering this is the Underworld. Helli would probably plop right back into the dark, lonely corner in Elysium where he had found him. Knowing the wretches of Tartarus, Helli was probably already there again.

 _I’m the worst dad ever_ , Zagreus thought bitterly. He couldn’t keep Helli alive for even one whole day.

Maybe Thanatos was right. Maybe this was a worse idea than he thought. Maybe Zagreus just isn’t father material. He certainly lacks the damn responsibility for it.

Still, he had to at least try. Search everywhere in Tartarus and otherwise check if Helli was safe back in Elysium. It was the least he could do.

He stepped up to Sisyphus and asked him the same question he had asked everybody else. He didn’t expect much: no one of his divine family he had asked had any clue what he was talking about. Charon was even a bit rude about the whole deal.

‘’An ox you say’’, Sisyphus pondered out loud. ‘’How funny that you say that, Your Highness, because I did in fact see something run by that looked suspiciously like an ox. Don’t mind me asking, Prince, but is he yours?’’

Zagreus jerked his head up and looked at him with eyes the size of sparkling, happy saucers. Finally he had a lead!

‘’Sisyphus mate, that’s absolutely _amazing_! Yes, yes, he’s mine, I kind of adopted him but he, erm, got loose.’’ Zagreus felt shame rushing through his body to admit it out loud. ‘’When did you see him?’’

‘’Oh no, that’s horrible, Your Highness, truly horrible! I actually saw him not too long ago. He was like a purple blur flashing by, barely caught a glimpse of him. But don’t you worry Prince, I believe the Fury Sisters are pretty close by. He will never get past them!’’ Sisyphus grinned at him.

He knew Sisyphus meant well, but Zagreus would rather not let Meg, or any one of the Fury Sisters for that matter, find out about Helli.

‘’Thank you Sisyphus. I owe you one, mate.’’ Zagreus made a mental note to give Sisyphus a bottle of nectar the next time he would see him, as he entered the next chamber.

~*~

Thanatos floated up to Achilles. He passed Cerberus, two of his heads contently gnawing on some bones, while the other lifted his curiously at him. Dusa and Meg were chatting down the hall. _Those two go together surprisingly well,_ Thanatos thought.

Achilles saw him approaching. His senses sure didn’t falter after death. So did his manners.

‘’Lord Thanatos, a rare sight. Good to see you.’’ He gave him a polite nod.

‘’Hello Achilles. I am looking for some information about a certain being in the Underworld. It lived once and I know no one else here with as in-depth knowledge on residents of the Underworld as you.’’ Some flattering beforehand couldn’t hurt, even if it’s just a shade he is talking to.

‘’You don’t need to flatter me, Lord Thanatos’’, Achilles answered as if reading his mind. ‘’I do know a lot of things, but there are still gaps in my knowledge. So forgive me if I cannot help you entirely.’’

Thanatos pressed his lips together. He didn’t know what he should do if this failed.

‘’I was wondering if you happen to know something about an ox that resides Elysium. I happened to see one last time I was down there and got curious.’’ He added the last part through pierced lips as Achilles’ sky blue eyes pierced his golden ones. Thanatos narrowed his eyes. _This damn mortal is too perceptive for his own good_ , Thanatos thought bitterly.

Achilles stroke his chin. ‘’An ox, huh. That’s a curious question… The only ox that comes in mind that could make it to Elysium, would be one of the divine Cattle of Helios. They are also called the Oxen of the Sun.’’

Thanatos didn’t know the god of the sun personally, but he certainly didn’t like his work. Helios’ sun was too damn bright. Suddenly Zagreus’ pet name for the ox came to Thanatos’ mind. _Helli_. Can this be the reason of the nickname?

Thanatos tried to focus on the conversation, but he did notice telling Megaera telling Dusa that is Tisiphone’s shift right now. _So Zagreus must have searched all of Tartarus then_ , Thanatos established.

‘’I see,’’ he managed. ‘’But you said the cattle were divine. How did the ox end up in Elysium then?’’

‘’Ahh my former comrades from my mortal days are responsible for that, I’m afraid. After the war in Troy ended, Odysseus and his men took the long way home. They eventually ended up on an island where the Cattle lived. Odysseus already knew he shouldn’t harm these Oxen, but… his men still decided to sacrifice and feast on them. You can imagine Helios didn’t like that, of course, and Odysseus is the only one who survived the wrath of the gods. I believe that would be how an ox would end up in Elysium. They are still divine after all and deserve a place in paradise.’’

Thanatos furrowed his brows sourly. ‘’Such a foolish and mortal mistake to make. No offense’’, he thought aloud. 

Down the hall he heard Megaera let out an irritated sigh. ‘’He’s already there? This must be a new record of his. What the hell is with his rush! I didn’t even see him emerge from Styx.’’ Thanatos’ immortal heart skipped a few beats. He vaguely heard Achilles chuckling about no offences taken, but it sounded too far away.

Thanatos’ brain worked in overdrive. It’s now Megaera’s shift. This means that either Helli ( _I even adapted that damn pet name_ , Thanatos noticed to his annoyance) or Zagreus faced Tisiphone. And that in turn means that either Zagreus or Helli is going to face Megaera right now. Helli facing Tisiphone would be much more preferable of course. After all, Thanatos is pretty sure he has never heard her say anything more than ‘murderer’. But there is no way in hell that ox could defeat a Fury sister. Which means that Megaera is going to face an ox now.

 _Fuck_.

‘’Thank you for your help, Achilles,’’ Thanatos said pressingly, his stoic exterior showing cracks. ‘’I’ve got to go now.’’

Thanatos snapped away in a flash of purple smoke without waiting for an answer. Megaera was stilling saying her farewells to Dusa, but that wouldn’t take too long. Time was running out.

Thanatos solidified in place in a whirl of purple smoke. He was in the resting chambers that came right after Megaera’s arena. He wanted to be sure to be out of sight when she arrived.

Megaera wasn’t there yet. He did saw a figure entering the arena through the gates at the opposite end.

But it wasn’t Helli.

It was Zagreus.

Zagreus halted and stared right ahead of him, but even though Thanatos tried to catch Zagreus’ eyes, his eyes seemed to be fixed to a spot near Thanatos. The purple smoke he appeared in hadn’t fade away and started to make his vision of Zagreus blurry while he furiously tried to catch his attention. Where is this boy looking at?

Zagreus finally locked eyes with Thanatos, looking horrified, and then it finally clicked for Thanatos. The purple smoke didn’t come from his arrival.

He slowly turned to find Helli staring at him, with an evil purple spark shining in his glassy eyes. They seemed to narrow down and look at him evilly when their gazes met. _What the hell?_

Thanatos had just enough time to brace himself as Helli tackled him, full force and covered in a sweet aroma. At the same time he heard a familiar voice make a noise of annoyance in the arena behind him.

‘’ _Tch_. You’re here already, Zagreus. This must be a new record, no?’’

Megaera had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for updating this so slow, but the good news is that there are probably only two chapters left! Hope you are enjoying this :)  
> Also, happy Year of the Ox!! I just had to update this fic today hehe

**Author's Note:**

> So uhh I'm not sure what to write here, but this is only like my second fic (and my first Hades one!), so any feedback would be appreciated!
> 
> And thanks for reading! :)


End file.
